Abstract
Generally pectinolytic organisms are related with agricultural manufacture which is the backbone of cost-cutting measure of many developing countries. Numerous published reports outlined the antibacterial effects of plants extracts and authenticated their use as effective inhibitors of phytopathogenic bacteria. Evaluation of these effective plant extracts against the soft rot bacteria yielded satisfactory results. However, no attempts have been made to utilize them in controlling the soft rot pathogens in Saudi Arabia. In this study, we have analyzed the species of bacteria responsible for soft rot of potato onions, carrots and tomato and also tested the efficacy of seven plant extracts in controlling soft rot of vegetables. The plant extracts which showed maximum antibacterial effect was selected for the in vivo testing against the vegetable which showed more pectinolytic count. The highest percentage of pectinolytic bacteria recorded in potatoes and carrots were 92 and 80.6 %, respectively. The percentage of pectinolytic count for tomatoes and onions were 60 and 75 %, respectively. Out of seven different plant extracts, only jute, garlic and neem extracts suppressed the growth of the control strain Ecc P-138 in low concentration. Irrespectively, the use of plant extracts to preserve food products is an eco-friendly and viable natural technique to minimize the spoilage of vegetables by soft rot pathogens. This could invariably reduce the cost of production by reducing the use of expensive chemical pesticides.